Readers from Leon H. Goldstein High School sound off on New York, journalism, vaping and more

NYC’s future leaders have their say

Editor’s note: Each spring, teacher Stephen Ryan of Leon H. Goldstein High School in Sheepshead Bay assigns the students of his government class the task of composing a letter to the editor of the Daily News on a topic of their choosing. We’ve already published some in the last few days. In the interest of both encouraging the future generation to stay involved in contemporary events and sparking inter-generational conversation in general, today’s Voicer of the People page is devoted to the views of Goldstein students. As always, we welcome responses from all readers.

The really good place

Brooklyn: When my childhood friends from Florida complain about New York turning people from polite to rude and insensitive, I laugh. The one-time Times Square venturers and out-of-state know-it-alls comment on the trash littering the streets and the odd people encountered on the subway, as if these things are deal breakers. I used to be that one-time Times Square visitor/know-it-all, but I learned that no statistic, picture, video or biased and uninformed comment online can capture the true essence of what it is like to live here. New York may smell and, yes, at times it may seem like a dump, but living here changes your perceptions of the world. I have lived here for seven years and have become more rude and demanding, for one cannot survive in New York without a thick skin. I have learned to stop nitpicking the little things, such as trash on the ground and the occasional grouchy bus driver. I was exposed to more diversity in one month of attending a New York public school than in my 11 years in Florida and that has allowed me to mature emotionally and culturally. As New Yorkers, we all reach a point of clarity when we realize that nobody has the time and energy to be passive-aggressive, ignorant, or judgmental. Everyone is trying to get somewhere and be something and that common goal requires unavoidable struggle on our part, and that struggle is what gives only us the right to criticize New York. Native or transplant, deep down we all know that no matter what we say about this state, most of us cannot imagine living anywhere else. Diana Rustamova

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Better life lessons

Brooklyn: The education system wants us to overwork ourselves in the name of “preparing for college” like taking a bunch of AP classes to appeal to colleges rather than teaching us common knowledge, such as doing our own taxes. How I wish the rock formation is useful when calculating my taxes. Eventually, we replace rigorous with relevance. Preparing us for college? How about preparing us for life? Brian Zhou

Vaping’s No. 1 problem

Brooklyn: I stood in line with 20 raging girls, ready to kill to get into the only open stall. Suddenly from one of the stalls came a burst of giggles and a plume of strawberry kiwi flavored smoke. “Are you kidding me, get out and let me pee!” These were the results of the ingenious solution high schools created to combat the recent vaping epidemic. Can we come up with a solution that does not involve tardiness and bladder issues? Betsy Gorelik

Ugly media bias

Brooklyn: Recent activity in the world of journalism is cause for serious concern. Scandals shamelessly disseminated by powerful media outlets with no concern for accuracy is having catastrophic consequences on society. The audacity, the brazen wickedness of journalists and celebrities to demonize well-comported Catholic boys is bloody disgraceful. These knee jerk sympathizers are so quick to terrorize people in the name of tolerance that they fail to realize they themselves are the bigots. Discrimination is on its deathbed, and the people enforcing equality at reputational gunpoint need to let it die. Jayden Eyzenberg

Age discrimination

Chester, N.Y.: Why at 18 can you die in a war, go thousands of dollars in debt for school, get sent to prison and enter life-altering experiences — yet are not adult enough to have a beer or cigarette? The age to smoke and drink should be lowered from 21 to 18. Daphne Tjan

Public transportation disaster

Brooklyn: The MTA buses are overrated and a complete disaster. Being a student taking the MTA bus makes me mad. The bus drivers seem miserable and don’t want to work. Then they take out their anger on a middle school kid trying to get home in the cold with his half-fare MetroCard but you won’t let him on? Like damn, how about not letting the kid freeze in the snow? Plus they come so infrequently, especially in the cold, and when they do, there are three buses for two people. So much for efficiency. Bennie Chen

Never-ending sentence

Brooklyn: Life in prison is tough but being put back behind softer bars after serving your sentence is not just for anyone! Sex offenders are those people who must live with this for years in the State of New York. As they wait for that day of freedom to come, they end up in psychiatric hospitals across the state! Instead of finding them a rightful rehabilitation home, they are sent into prisons with softer bars. We have to help them because they did their time just like a murderer, but murderers are let out while sex offenders are put back into the hospitals! This is not right and we need to help them! Larry B. Livshits

Poor priorities

Brooklyn: It’s absolutely mind-boggling how kids these days flex name brands, go to high-priced restaurants and go on lavish vacations every chance they get with their parents. Yet, these same kids showing off their Gucci belts, iPhone XRs, AirPods and Apple watches — all while on vacation in Aruba — are the ones who apply and are accepted into programs, like Questbridge, full of unique opportunities designed for less fortunate kids. Questbridge is designed to help poor high school students apply and go to elite and expensive colleges, free of charge. In my tiny high school, multiple students have qualified for this program, but less than half of our students qualify for free lunch. I wonder — are the Gucci belts and MacBooks fake? Or do these families love their dough so much they’ll do anything to preserve it? It’s time to let go of some of the dough and let a truly impoverished kid eat for once. Gabrielle E. Medev

Teacher privilege

Brooklyn: In many New York schools, teachers enjoy a number of privileges which are not available to students and the most important privilege is fresh, clean water. I noticed on my many trips to different schools that teacher lounges always have cold, clean water while the water in the fountains for students are usually warm and have a weird taste. Why do we have to put up with this discrimination? Someone has to act now or students will drown in this inequality. Dzhumiea Nasriddinov

Food for thought

Brooklyn: I’m tired of these pointless debates over pineapple on pizza and milk or cereal first. We all have better things to worry about than how you like your pizza. Enjoy your cereal how you like it and leave me alone... but cereal definitely goes first! Sidorela Reci

More food for thought

Brooklyn: You always talk about saving the environment. What do you do for the environment, as a vegan, besides complain about what people eat, tell people to go vegan and Instagram vegan food?! Philip Dwan